Panasonic Lumix® DMC-FZ18K Digital Camera

Full Review

This is a great machine. There's very little that it cannot do, and what it can do, it does well. The competing Fuji and Olympus all suffer in the image quality department slightly more than this one, thanks to a great lens. The noise level is annoying, but it can be reduced with software. Very fast power-up/extend lens/first image captured speed. Handy zoom memory--the camera has a switchable mode that remembers your last zoom length when you power down, and powers up with the exact same lens setting. Great for railroad action shooters, I suppose it would be nice for sports or wildlife shooters, too. The incredible image stabilized zoom lens makes this a very useful camera, both for up close work, and really reaching out to touch someone. I photograph trains in the worst weather, at high elevation, and the IS works pretty well. The shutter speeds in low light are enough to warrant a tripod, one you definitely use for the night shot modes. The program will allow 15, 30 and even 60-second exposures! Those streaking taillight shots on the freeway are only a tripod and a shutter click away!
The camera is nicely built, fits well in your hand, the LCD screen works very well for composing a shot, the menus are easy to navigate, the "joystick" is quite handy. Almost too many scene programs--so many cool features and modes, you'll likely never use them all. The only minor gripe I have is the shutter button is hard to prefocus with thick gloves on. For most "normal" folks, this will be a non-issue. It is so versatile, you ry to do so much with it, and it does much of it very well. It gets easy to expect it to perform like an SLR, but it's no slouch, either.
It is no SLR, so don't expect this machine to do the job of an SLR outfit costing 3-4 times as much. For somewhere around 300 bucks, this is a fantastic camera.